Robin's E(expected) T(time of) D(departure)

It is a joyous spring day when I spot my first robin! Robins can smell worms from afar and know when they are beginning to surface again. And this is why they return when they do. Having no appetite for worms myself, I don't know when this phenomena occurs. I just look for the robins who relay that information. Although there are some robins who stay with us year around, I don't see them throughout the winter myself. Which brings me to my next thought.

It is almost time for them to leave us. There was one year, and one year only, when I actually saw the robins gather together and check their tiny suitcases to make sure they had everything before flying off for parts unknown to me. Other than that, I can only surmise when they will leave without as much as a fare-thee-well. I sense that it's about that time now. There's a rumbling underfoot which tells me that perhaps the worms are starting to burrow deeper.

The Landing

"Hawks are social birds." my Dad used to say. He would add, "You will see a lot of them perched on power poles along the road." Therefore, whenever we're on a drive back to Iowa, I like to count how many hawks I see as we travel along the interstate. And I wave to them. I think what Dad meant by the hawk being social is that they are not so shy of man. It makes me happy to see a hawk who is one of a social bunch. It pleases me to wave at a creature that doesn't shun me.

In actuality, each one is oblivious to a red Vibe on a busy highway. He's occupied, instead, with watching for the faint movement of a grassblade knowing that hustling underneath it would be a tasty morsel for dinner.

Can birds smell?

David Allen Sibley in The Sibley Guide to Bird Life & Behavior, says that in comparison to vision and hearing, the other senses in a bird are secondary. However, in nocturnal birds, vultures and tubenoses, the sense of smell can be significant. These birds are able to locate carrion by detecting the odor of a chemical that is emitted by rotting meat. (Since I procrastinate at this bit of housekeeping, it's therefore a good thing there isn't a Turkey Vulture near my refrigerator.)

There is something wondrous about a bird. The fact that they can soar in places that we can only think about is, I think, part of the wonder. How delightful it is to spot a fallen feather, claim it as your own and then poke it into your cap! A bird's plumage is so luxurious and gorgeous that it makes it hard to believe that underneath that lofty bit of color is a scrawny creature with a pokey neck.

A friend of mine raises Amazon parrots and for awhile also raised cockatiels. I have a prized cinnamon cockatiel hand-raised and given to me from Tami. I named her Acorn and she and I are buddies. I collect Acorn's fallen feathers and have been known to give them as special gifts or use them in some of my art projects.

I went to a quilting class one time where the quilt artist was doing a series of quilts on the topic of feathers. She was not just quilting ordinary feather shapes, however. This women studied feathers by magnifying them many many times and then made dazzling designs from the hidden-to-the-natural-eye shapes and colors. She showed slides of the colors and textures that were underlying the surface. They were sensational.

Since that time, I have been fascinated by thinking about those hidden things that are so easily passed over in the superficial glance or in the haste of the moment. I find that if I remain enchanted by small treasures, then all of life holds wonderment. But if I lose sight of the intrigue of finding the veiled treasure, then I find myself becoming self-absorbed and depressed. I would much rather spend my time waving at hawks and thinking about their aloof but friendly beauty than being annoyed about my ingrown toenail. I'm thankful that God created such variety to enchant and draw us out of ourselves.

"Is it by your understanding that the hawk soars, Stretching his wings toward the south? Is it at your command that the eagle mounts up And makes his nest on high? On the cliff he dwells and lodges, Upon the rocky crag, an inaccessible place. From there he spies out food; His eyes see it from afar." Job 29:26-29

(Graphic based on tutorial by DaBratz membership group.)

Whipped Ocean

Yesterday I got an email from a friend with pictures of an event in Yamba in New South Wales, north of Sydney, Australia, where foam waves washed upon an entire beach and extended 30 miles out into the ocean. This event had not been seen at the beach for more than 30 years.

"Scientists explain that the foam is created by impurities in the ocean, such as salts, chemicals, dead plants, decomposed fish and excretions from seaweed. All are churned up together by powerful currents which cause the water to form bubbles. These bubbles stick to each other as they are carried below the surface of the current toward the shore. As a wave starts to form on the surface, the motion of the water causes the bubbles to swirl upwards and, massed together, they become foam. The foam 'surfs' towards shore until the wave 'crashes', tossing the foam into the air."

A 12 year old surfer said this: "Me and my mates just spent the afternoon leaping about in that stuff." he said. "It was quite cool to touch, it was really weird. It was like clouds of air, you could hardly feel it." (quoted from the email received)

I have been doing a little Bible study on the book of Jude. Actually I have been spending weeks reading, rereading, and pondering the verses in Jude while also reading a couple of commentaries on Jude. The entire book of Jude is warning of apostates which would infiltrate the church in the last days. Jude warns us very explicity and graphically describes what these apostates are like. I couldn't help but think of these verses in Jude when I saw the pictures:

These are men who are hidden reefs in your love feasts when they feast with you without fear, caring for themselves; clouds without water, carried along by winds; autumn trees without fruit, doubly dead, uprooted; wild waves of the sea, casting up their own shame like foam; wandering stars, for whom the black darkness has been reserved forever. Jude 12,13

What a graphic depiction of apostates these pictures gave me! The composition of the foam and the words of the young boy as he describes the delight he had "playing" in the foam and what it felt like were serious words of warning to me.

How easy it is to not think about what is happening around us and to just "play" with something that is different, a unique event, or an incredible phenomena which could actually be very unhealthy for us. Something that is such fun can, in actuality, be that which is hollow and empty and be "clouds of air". If we "hardly feel" it, we will not be alert to its dangers. Apostasy, or false doctrine, is formed in much the same way as this cappuccino ocean was formed: impurities that are tossed together, impurities, which when churned together, stick together.

Such an incredible word picture of what we are to be forewarned, and thus forearmed about.

Back to Ernst Haeckel

I have always thought that Haeckel's detailed, colorful, and almost surreal images would make great embroidery designs. Some time ago I got a Dover book with his art (Art Forms In Nature) and a book printed by Prestel Press Art Forms From the Ocean
I have yet to do an embroidery design based on his images, but I must say that I believe that my entry into "art journaling" can be somewhat attributed to him. I started art journaling because of my fascination with diatoms. I did research on them and drew them in my journal while my fascination expanded. I was impressed with the realization that God created each one of these minute plankton-like creatures which are so small and seemingly irrelevant in the grand spectrum of things. Yet, the Lord created each one, and He knows where each one fell and died. The amount of the silica shells left behind from the diatoms is so enormous that there are massive lodes of them which can run miles deep. Bulldozers now tap into these lodes and scoop up uncountable diatoms to sell as "diatomaceous earth". I think it is ironic that silica shells, which lived and died in the ocean, now help keep slugs at bay in our garden. These absolutely beautiful shells which are too small for us to see with our naked eye, are so perfectly formed that scientists use them to calibrate their microscopes.

All this makes me realize again that size is not important....

Love of Birds

THESE THINGS ARE OURS....
...for God creates within our soul a mystic sense of wonder....
that we may hear allegro tunes
among tall swaying cattails....

"These Things Are Ours" Gwen Frostic

I finally jumped in the car and went to town yesterday. The desire had been rumbling around in my mind all week, but with the gas prices, I was unwilling to travel without a list in my hand that exceeded the length of the car.

Yesterday was the suitable day to hit the road. Besides, I was hungry for a Fuji Apple Chicken salad and broccoli soup from Panerra, and it was almost lunchtime by the time that I left.

My first stop was the office section at Sam's Club to lay in a new supply of page protectors. While browsing through the books at the next aisle over, I found an interesting little volume called "The Backyard Birdsong Guide" which comes with its own little playing device so that you can see the picture of the bird and hear it's song when you scroll to the appropriate number. Hmmmm! I thought. That looks perfect. We have so many lovely birdsounds floating around our yard and I never know who's calling to whom. I wanted the book. I bought the book. I love the book. And I hope to learn about all my musical neighbors as I study it.

I also picked up two new journals at B&N put out by "Working Class Studio". On my book shelf I have a number of Gwen Frostic's beautifully rendered print press books of block prints and poetry that I savor. The journals from Working Class Studio remind me of her artwork. I can hardly wait to dip into the journals and start messing up the pages! For the past year I've had a "thing" for dandelions, which is why the large volume caught my eye. The cover design contains several conceptions of a stylized dandelion which, to me, are reminiscent of artwork by Ernst Haeckel.... Makes me want to do something with dandelion heads!

The cabbage bowl in this picture is one that I made years ago when I was experimenting with papier mache. The bowl is made with layered strips of newspaper, and is what I think of as being the traditional method of papier mache. However, I also played around with Celluclay. The article about Celluclay in this link tells how to dye the Celluclay, which would probably make it much more interesting to work with. I found it hard to use because no matter how hard I tried, it came out bumpy and required a lot of sanding if I wanted a smooth surface. I've wanted to get back into working with papier mache because I really like its inherent qualities of lightness while being quite tough. It worked well when I had a lot of mache projects started so that they were staggered in their steps to completion.